Quantifying cardiac functions in embryonic and adult zebrafish

Zebrafish embryos have been extensively used to study heart development and cardiac function, mainly due to the unique embryology and genetics of this model organism. Since most human heart disease occurs during adulthood, adult zebrafish models of heart disease are being created to dissect mechanis...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inMethods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) Vol. 843; p. 11
Main Authors Hoage, Tiffany, Ding, Yonghe, Xu, Xiaolei
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.01.2012
Subjects
Animals
Embryo, Nonmammalian - cytology
Embryo, Nonmammalian - embryology
Erythrocytes
Heart - embryology
Heart - physiology
Heart Rate
Heart Ventricles - anatomy & histology
Hemodynamics
Molecular Imaging
Organ Size
Time Factors
Ventricular Function
Zebrafish - embryology
Online AccessGet more information

Cover

More Information
Summary:Zebrafish embryos have been extensively used to study heart development and cardiac function, mainly due to the unique embryology and genetics of this model organism. Since most human heart disease occurs during adulthood, adult zebrafish models of heart disease are being created to dissect mechanisms of the disease and discover novel therapies. However, due to its small heart size, the use of cardiac functional assays in the adult zebrafish has been limited. To address this bottleneck, the transparent fish line casper;Tg(cmlc2:nuDsRed) that has a red fluorescent heart can be used to document beating hearts in vivo and to quantify cardiac functions in adult zebrafish. Here, we describe our methods for quantifying shortening fraction and heart rate in embryonic zebrafish, as well as in the juvenile and adult casper;Tg(cmlc2:nuDsRed) fish. In addition, we describe the red blood cell flow rate assay that can be used to reflect cardiac function indirectly in zebrafish at any stage.
ISSN:1940-6029
DOI:10.1007/978-1-61779-523-7_2